Melson claims he was personally in the dark about the full extent of the Gun Walker program until public controversy erupted, and was âsick to his stomachâ when he reviewed the Reports of Investigation. This might be hard to square with some of the agent testimony given before Issaâs committee, but it also sounds like Melson has lost all interest in falling on his sword.

In other words, this was never about letting American guns âwalkâ to shadowy Mexican drug kingpins, leaving a trail of bullets that ATF could follow. Also, this means agencies other than ATF were involved in the Gun Walker outrageâŠ which means the Acting ATF Directorâs potential usefulness as a firewall to protect superiors, such as Eric Holder, has just about come to an end.

Issaâs committee has learned that other federal agencies, including the FBI and DEA, were involved in Fast and Furious, and that there was a failure to share information that was known to those other agencies:

When confronted with information about serious issues involving lack of information sharing by other agencies, which Committee staff had originally learned from other witnesses, Mr. Melsonâs responses tended to corroborate what others had said. Specifically, we have very real indications from several sources that some of the gun trafficking âhigher-upsâ that the ATF sought to identify were already known to other agencies and may even have been paid as informants. The Acting Director said that ATF was kept in the dark about certain activities of other agencies, including DEA and FBI.

An email cited in Senator Charles Grassleyâs testimony in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Operation Fast and Furious indicates that knowledge of the program was spread across the highest levels of the Justice Department. This lends even greater suspicion to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holderâs claim that he knew nothing about the program until well after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed.

The October 27, 2009 email from ATF Phoenix Field Division Special Agent in Charge (SAC) William Newell regarded a Southwest Border Strategy Group meeting that focused on Fast and Furious. It contained a laundry list of high ranking Justice Department officials that attended the meeting, including:

Issa is an interesting character to say the least.. his past is a tad checkered.

And he rants and raves about corruption... he does have first hand experience about the justice system.. This is from Wikipedia, which has since been scrubbed by the rumpswabs of the right.

A retired Army sergeant claimed that Issa stole a Dodge sedan from an Army post near Pittsburgh in 1971. The sergeant said he recovered the car after confronting and threatening him.

Issa denied the allegation and no charges were filed.

In 1972, Issa and his brother allegedly stole a red Maserati sports car from a car dealership in Cleveland.

He and his brother were indicted for car theft, but the case was dropped.

That same year, Issa was convicted in Michigan for possession of an unregistered gun. He received three months probation and paid a $204 fine.

[...] On December 28, 1979, Issa and his brother allegedly faked the theft of Issa's Mercedes Benz sedan.

Issa and his brother were charged for grand theft auto, but the case was dropped by prosecutors for lack of evidence.

Later, Issa and his brother were charged for misdemeanors, but that case was not pursued by prosecutors.

Issa accused his brother of stealing the car, and said that the experience with his brother was the reason he went into the car alarm business.

A day after a court order was issued, giving Issa control of automotive alarm company A.C. Custom over an unpaid $60,000 debt, Issa allegedly carried a cardboard box containing a handgun into the office of A.C. Custom executive, Jack Frantz, and told Frantz he was fired.

In a 1998 newspaper article, Frantz said Issa had invited him to hold the gun and claimed extensive knowledge of guns and explosives from his Army service.

In response, Issa said, "Shots were never fired. ... I don't recall having a gun. I really don't. I don't think I ever pulled a gun on anyone in my life."